Panel Discussion: The Zombie Renaissance: Why Now?

Lecture:

Panel Discussion: The Zombie Renaissance: Why Now?

Showtimes:

Saturday Oct 27 04:00 PM

Location:

Doris Duke Theatre

Price:

Museum members: $3.00
General Admission: $5.00

About the Lecture:

Part of the Doris Duke Theatre's Zombiethon!, this panel discussion features illustrated presentations on these topics: Zombie Walks and Zombie Economics; Coffin Fantasies, Card-playing Plastinates, and Zombies in the Mall; Global Events of the Last Twelve Years and the the Zombie Phenomenon and Celluloid Zombies.

This panel discussion at the Doris Duke Theatre is organized in conjunction with a series of zombie-related public events being held at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, from October to November, as part of programming for the Kennedy Theatre production of Uncle Vanya and Zombies.

FREE for students with ID, and for people with admission to the 1 and 7:30pm screenings.

The panelists

Dr. Markus Wessendorf, Professor of Theater, University of Hawai'i at MānoaMarkus Wessendorf holds a PhD in Applied Theater Studies from the University of Giessen/Germany. His publications include a monograph on Richard Foreman’s Ontological-Hysteric Theater and a co-edited volume on interdisciplinary relationships between theater and the other arts. As a director, his work includes the staging of the first English-language production of Heiner Müller’s Germania Death in Berlin (New York, 1989), the first English-language production of Laurent Gaudé’s Battle of Will (Honolulu, 2005), and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (Honolulu, 2010). His English translation of Bertolt Brecht’s Die Judith von Shimoda was performed at La MaMa Theatre in New York last May. He was the main organizer of the 13th IBS Symposium on “Brecht in/and Asia” in Honolulu in May 2010, and he was also the guest editor of the Brecht Yearbook that came out of this conference. Dr. Wessendorf is currently in rehearsals for his stage production of Uncle Vanya and Zombies, which opens at the Kennedy Theatre this November.

Dr. Kathryn Hoffmann, Professor of French at the University of Hawaii at ManoaKathryn Hoffmann is Professor and Chair of the Division of French and Italian at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She is author of the book Society of Pleasures and dozens of articles and papers with a focus on the interdisciplinary crossings of literature, art, and the history of medicine. She is well known for her expertise in European anatomical and natural history museums and the imagery of the walking, horse-riding, and pipe-playing dead.

Brett Botbyl, theater director, educational specialist and graphic designer at Kapi‘olani Community CollegeBrett Botbyl has been a working director and producer since 1982. Over the last 30 years he has directed more than 26 major productions in New York, New Jersey, California and Hawaiʻi. Brett’s innovative creations have included large-scale productions of Excalibur, Robin Hood, The Three Musketeers and The Legend of Romney Black. Staged productions include the San Francisco debut of Jekyll & Hyde, The Lion in Winter, Harold and Maude, The Little Necromancer, and the 1999 world premier of the science fiction theatre series Theatricus at the Vassar Brothers Institute Theatre in New York. In 2001, Brett had the privilege of directing the world premier of the one-act play The Zombies of Montrose by award-winning author James Morrow.

In 2011 Brett received his M.F.A. in directing from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he directed Mercury - Science Fiction Theatre, The Good Terrorists, Appalachia Hawaii and his thesis production of Bug by Tracy Letts.

Gerard Elmore, FilmmakerThis award-winning editor/producer/director has a wide range of experience in TV and film. As a commercial director, Elmore has directed spots for clients such as Wet N Wild, Taco Bell, Central Pacific Bank, First Hawaiian Bank, OC sports and McDonald’s. Music videos he has directed have gained national attention and have aired on CMT, FUSE TV, and other numerous outlets. His feature film All For Melissa was distributed nationally.

As a producer, he has helped coordinate national specials such as Summer of the Shark and Day of the Shark 3 for Shark Week on Discovery Channel.

Gerard is also involved in the local film community in Hawai‘i, serving as the Executive Director of the ‘Ohina Short Film Showcase and is on the Doris Duke Theatre Advisory Committee.

Moderator: Sammie Choy, MFA, PhDA long-time fan of fantasy and science fiction, Choy is fascinated by the resurgence of interest in all things zombie. She is currently a lecturer in theater and acting at Kapi‘olani Community College and directs locally, including the Mai Poina series of living history presentations for the Hawai‘i Pono‘i Coalition. She was until recently a co-producer of Hawai‘i Public Radio’s Aloha Shorts, a program that airs locally written poems and shorts stories read by local actors.